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(No Model) V I ILJERAULD, Jr

THREAD CUTTER AND HOLDER. J No. 293,254. Patented Feb. 12',- 1884.

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EDW'IN JE RAULD, JR, OF BRISTOL, RHODE ISLAND.

THREAD CUTTER AND HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 293,254, dated February12, 1884.

Applicatiin filed September 1", 1883. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN JERAULD, Jr., of the town and county ofBristol, in the State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Thread Gutters and Holders for Use onSewing-Machines, and I do hereby declare that the followingspecification, taken in connection with the drawings furnished andforming apart thereof, is a clear, true, and complete description of theseveral features of my invention.

The desirability of employing a thread-cutting device upon asewing-machine has long been recognized, and a variety of such haveheretofore been devised, and in some cases they have been so constructedas to also serve as holders for theends of an upper and a lower threadpreparatory to stitching. So far as my knowledge extends,such combinedcutting and holding devices have been enabled to serve as thread-holders, because of the presence of a V- shaped spring or a V-shaped slotin a cutterplate, or a V-shaped slot afforded between twocoincidently-beveled disks compressed together by a spring, or a flatspring between which and an adjacent surface the thread is bitten.

In tension devices as heretofore constructed spring-plungers have beenemployed for so con stitutes for the thumb and finger during the initialmovement of the needle, for holding the ends of thread preparatory tostitching, and

which do not and cannot operate as tension devices. In my thread-holderI for the first time employ a spring-plunger having a head, betweenwhich and a coincident surface the thread is held, and from which it canbe very easily released, as by the movement of the fabric incident tothe ordinary operation of the feed-motion in sewing, and which is lessliable to unduly hold a kinked thread than any other of which I haveknowledge; and I have also for the first time provided for readilygraduating the clamping force of the holder, so that it will compress'acoarse or a heavy thread no tighter than a fine one. WVith my holder Iemploy a thread-cutter which may be variously arranged, although I haveso combined it with the plunger of the thread-holder that its rear edgeor back serves'as a guide for preventing the rotation of the plunger inits seat.

To moreparticularl y describe my invention, I will refer to theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents in two viewsapresser foot and bar to which my cutter and holder are applied as afixture on the machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of my device asapplied in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view of my cutter and holder constructedfor use as an attachment to a presser-foot loar.

W Vhen applied as a fixture on a machine, I prefer to employ an enlargedbase, A, drilled and tapped at its upper end to receivethe bar a, andslotted at its lower end-to receive the shank b of thepresser-foot,which is secured by the clamp-screw b. Laterally throughthe base a deeply-countersunk hole is drille d,so as to re ceive theshank cof the holder 13. The threadcompressing spiral spring atencircles the shank, and has its seat at the inner end of thecountersunk portion of the hole. The outer end of holder-shank c isscrew-threaded to receive the adjusting thumb-nut 6, whereby the springmay be readily set at any desired tension. The head f of the holder isbeveled on its upper side toward the shank, but is otherwise squared upnext its shank, so as to press evenly and squarely against thecoincident surface of the base A. The under side of the head islongitudinally slotted, as at g, for the reception of the back or top ofthe knife h, which thus serves as a guide for the spring-plunger, and bypre venting it from rotating in its seat keeps the beveled surface ofthe head always in its right position for the ready reception of thethread which is to be held. The knife h, or threadcutter, is firmlyinserted by its shank into a hole in the base below the holder, auditscutting-edge is at its lower side, as at h.

In use the two threads to be cut and held are preferably carried upwardfrom the workplate over the holder into the bite at its beveled edge,thence around downward and to the front, thus drawing the threads upwardacross the cutting-edge and severing them; or the threads may be carriedup at the rear of the holder, thence forward, downward, and back overthe cutting-edge. The distance of the holder from the presser-foot isample to secure a desirable length of the thread ends. The strength ofthe spring may be readily adjusted by the thumb-nut, so that coarsethread need be held no tighter than the finest, thereby providing forholding equally well all kinds of thread during the cutting operation,and also for as ready release for one kind of thread as another.

It is obvious that the thread-holder can be used to advantage regardlessofthe character of the cutter employed therewith. \Vh en constructed foruse as an attachment, the holdershank is housed in a tube,z', Fig. 3,and said tube is provided With a bow sprin g-clam p, k, or otherwell-known device, by which it may be readily appliedto and removed froma presser-foot bar. At one end of said tube is a collar, Z,Which affordsan abutting-surface for the inner face of the head,whereby the thread isheld, as before described, and the knife h may be an integral projectingpart of said collar or otherwise securedthereto.

The adjusting-nut 6 here used is as before described, and while I deemthis latter important for the best results, I do not limit myself Ithereto, as a nonadjustable spring and plunger, as described, will servea good purpose.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. The combination, with the presser-foot bar andmountcdthereon, of the thread-cutter and the spring-plunger providedwith ahead, and serving as a thread-holder for compressing threadbetween one side of saidhead and a coincident surface, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination of the spring plunger, serving with anabutting-surface as a threadholder, and the thread-cutter, serving alsoas a guide for said plunger, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the thread-cutter and the threadholder having thethreadcompressing spring. and provided with means for adjusting thepower of said spring, substantiall y as describedgvhereby said holdercan be adjusted to compress a coarse thread no tighter than a fine one,and to hold both equally Well during the use of the cutter, as setforth.

. EDXVIN JERAULD, JR.

Vi tn ess es:

J. N. LINDSEY, L. B. BOMORTH.

